Making a case for Uniform Civil Code and implementation of a uniform population policy, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday said that people of one nation should be governed by a common law.
"When people talk about Uniform Civil Code, they usually talk in the context of Hindus and Muslims. But that is not all.
(When such a code is implemented) There will be change in customs of all communities including Hindus, " he said in response to a query during a question - answer session at the concluding day of the outreach event here.
He said there should be an attempt to bring a consensus among the society for a uniform code while taking into account the diversity of the country.
"People of one nation should live under a common law, " Bhagwat told the gathering here.
He said the Uniform Civil Code was meant to bring unity in the country and should be brought gradually in a way that it does not create any divide.
"This has also been suggested by those who drafted the constitution that the government should take the country in that direction. . .
that it figures out what kind of a code there should be, how to convince the society in its favour and then enforce it, " he said.
Asked about population control and what would be the position of Hindus after 50 years, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief made a strong case for planning for India's rising population with a 50 - year perspective.
"Population is thought of as a burden.
If population increases, food consumption also increases, pressure on land increases and environmental problems also increase.
But population also provides the human resource, " he said.
"There should be demographic balance.
There should be a population policy applicable to everyone and should be uniformly implemented without exception.
"Where there is a problem, it should be implemented first like (in families) where there are more children and not enough resources, " he said.
However, he added, it cannot be achieved only through enactments but there should be a change in mentality in the society.
Bhagwat said that India is a young nation with a significant young population and one needs to consider the kind of population mix the country will have in 30 years: whether it will be a young or an old population as in the case of China.
"We have to see population with this perspective looking at a 50 year horizon and then plan for that: how much resources will we need then and how much impact on environment that kind of population will have, " he said.
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